Supreme Court Dismisses Habeas Corpus Petition Filed By Christian Michel James Seeking Release From Jail In AgustaWestland Case

The Bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra remarked, “How can you file an Article 32 Petition? File a regular bail application.” “Cannot go ad nauseam.” the Court further said while dismissing the plea.

The Counsel for the Petitioner relied on Section 21 of the Extradition Act, 1962 which relates to an accused or convicted person surrendered or returned by a foreign State, who is not to be tried for certain offences.

The Court further said that the same argument as previously raised was dismissed by the court, hence, refused to entertain the petition.

Recently, a Delhi Court dismissed the bail plea of James, thus, the present petition.

The Delhi High Court in March 2022 had dismissed the bail applications of Christian Michel James, the alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland scam being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Rs 3,600-crore alleged scam relates to the purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from AgustaWestland.

Challenging the High Court’s Order, James had filed a bail plea before the Supreme Court, which was also dismissed vide order dated February 7, 2023. The Bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice P.S. Narasimha and Justice J.B. Pardiwala held, “In the backdrop of the above discussion, it has emerged before the Court that the fundamental basis on which the petitioner has sought bail, namely, under the provisions of Section 436A, cannot be accepted as valid. Besides the provisions of Sections 415 and 420 read with Section 120B IPC and Section 8 of the PC Act, the petitioner is alleged to have committed offences under Section 467 IPC which is punishable with upto life imprisonment. In this backdrop, the provisions of Section 436A would not stand attracted in the present case… For the above reasons, we are not inclined to accept the submission of the petitioner that he was entitled to the grant of bail on the foundation of Section 436A. The Single Judge of the High Court has, while declining bail, also adverted to the circumstances in which the petitioner was required to be extradited from the UAE to face trial in India. We, therefore, find no merit in the Special Leave Petitions.”

James had previously said he was not required for the purpose of investigation and expressed his willingness to cooperate with the probe. The applications also said the accused had never sought to evade the process of law, and that no purpose would be served by keeping him in further custody.

James was extradited from Dubai in December 2018 and subsequently arrested by the two investigating agencies. The CBI, in its charge sheet, has alleged an estimated loss of 398.21 million euros (about Rs 2,666 crore) to the exchequer due to the deal that was signed on February 8, 2010, for the supply of VVIP choppers worth 556.262 million euros.

The ED, in its charge sheet filed against James in June 2016, had alleged that he had received 30 million euros (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland. James is among the three alleged middlemen being probed in the case. The other two are Guido Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.